Jane Henson, Muppets collaborator, dies at 78

Jane Nebel Henson, who collaborated with her husband, Jim Henson, in creating, designing and marketing the Muppets, died Tuesday at her home in Connecticut after battling cancer. She was 78.

Her death was announced by the Jim Henson Co.

The couple met in a puppetry class at the University of Maryland in the 1950s. Combining marionettes and puppets, Jim Henson began performing with his creations on a TV show called “Sam and Friends” in Washington, D.C. He asked Jane to join him on the program as a performer and puppet designer, and she became his creative and business partner in the endeavor that spawned Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the “Sesame Street” characters Big Bird, Ernie and the Cooke Monster.